Category Archives: Environment

Valuing the Environment podcast chat with Boyd Blackwell

Posted on July 23, 2020 by

In 2017, Deloitte Access Economics estimated the value of the Great Barrier Reef at $56 billion. You may ask, how could you even attempt to place a dollar value on the Reef? What techniques are used? Aren’t some of our … Continue reading →

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Qld single-use plastics ban plan revives memory of UQ Union’s real crockery & cutlery experiment in mid-nineties

Posted on November 8, 2019 by

Economists are always alert to the potential for adverse unintended consequences of well-meaning policies, so the Queensland Government grabbed my attention recently when it announced it is considering a single-use plastics ban. ABC News has reported: Single-use plastics could be … Continue reading →

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Frustrated Qld industry peak bodies (e.g. AgForce, QRC) want greater consultation post-election

Posted on November 18, 2017 by

Last Sunday, five prominent Queensland industry peak bodies—AgForce, the Property Council, QRC, QTIC and Timber Queensland—issued a joint election platform Driving Queensland’s Economic Growth. It was extraordinary that such a diverse collection of peak bodies were motivated enough and could … Continue reading →

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Should Queensland ban plastic shopping bags?

Posted on November 29, 2016 by

Last week, the Queensland Government Environment Department issued a discussion paper to consult with the community on its proposed ban of lightweight plastic bags (i.e. the type you get at Coles and Woolworths). However, the scope for public consultation is … Continue reading →

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Container deposit scheme very likely a costly bad idea

Posted on June 6, 2016 by

Regrettably, there is now a bipartisan commitment in Queensland to what is very likely a costly bad policy, with the Opposition announcing its support for a container deposit scheme, otherwise known as a “cash for cans” scheme (see the Brisbane … Continue reading →

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Is banning plastic bags the best option to tackle litter and reduce waste?

Posted on February 26, 2016 by

Guest post by Rod Bogaards It looks like a push is on to ban single-use plastic bags nationally according to the Courier-Mail. A ban has already been implemented in some of the smaller states and territories but not elsewhere. Perhaps … Continue reading →

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Economics and environmental law seminar timely given debate over CSG & Galilee

Posted on November 10, 2015 by

One of the new words we have heard in recent years is “lawfare”, the use of the law as a weapon of war. In Australia, it has been alleged that environmental groups such as the Australian Conservation Foundation and the … Continue reading →

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Unsurprising Townsville running out of water when Council is charging so little for it

Posted on August 26, 2015 by

Townsville City Council desperately needs some hard-headed economic advice, not just on the unwise Super Stadium project, but on water pricing, too. It is reported in today’s Townsville Bulletin that “TOWNSVILLE residents must dramatically reduce their water use if the … Continue reading →

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Solar subsidy creates suburban “eyesore” on Gold Coast

Posted on July 18, 2013 by

In describing how government policies can have strange effects, economic textbooks often refer to the window tax that applied in Britain in France in the 18th and 19th centuries. This tax resulted in a number of households bricking up windows … Continue reading →

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Farmers struggling to understand reams of vegetation management regulation

Posted on December 2, 2012 by

Given that Queensland has seen some egregious examples of land clearing in the past – recall George Quaid in the 1980s – there is clearly a role for Government in regulating activities affecting native vegetation. However, it is possible Government … Continue reading →

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